Circuit-closer.



R. P. LUMLEY & H. G. HILLMAN. CIRCUIT CLOSER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29,1907. RENEWED JULY 30, 1909.

Patented Apr. 26, 1910. v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT P. LUMLEY AND HENRY Gr. HILLMAN, OF NEW YGRK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TOPUBLIC SAFETY COMPANY, OF \VASHIN RATION OF DELAWARE.

GTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, A CORPO- CIRCUIT-CLOSER.

Application filed March 29, 1907, Serial No. 365,217. Renewed July 30,1909.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

Serial No. 510,415.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROBERT P. LUMLEY and HENRY G. HILLMAN, the latter asubject of the King of Great Britain and the former a citizen of theUnited States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCircuit-Closers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to circuit closers of the plunger type, and moreparticularly to doorand gate-operated devices which are adapted for usewith safety elevator systems, burglar alarms and the like.

One of the principal objects of our invention is to produce a circuitcloser or switch which will be simple and strong and adapted towithstand the severest usage.

Another object of our invention is to provide a switch the contacts andconducting parts of which are thoroughly insulated and protected, sothat the switch may be specially adapted for elevator and other useswhere the switch is required to be mounted on steel or other metallicgirders or framework.

A further object of our invention is to provide a switch such that theoperating parts may be removed intact for the purpose of replacing wornparts, simply by removing a part of the casing on which the parts aresecured.

Further objects of our invention will more fully appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a face view of the inner surface of thebase plate with the operating and contacting parts secured thereto; Fig.2 is a sectional view on the line wm of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a plan viewlooking down upon the top of the complete switch assembled; and Fig. lis a sectional view on the line y-y of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a base plate 1 and cover 2 are each formed ofhard fiber so that they may be directly secured to any metallic surfacewithout danger of grounding the circuits. The base plate 2 has a grooveor channel 3 formed therein, in which a contact-carrying plunger isadapted to slide back and forth. The plunger is preferably formed of ametallic tube 5 provided with a cap or plug 6, of insulating material,and with a cross contact bar 8 of conducting material which is securedto the tube preferably by transversely slotting the same and securingthe cross contact in the slot. This bar, as shown, is preferablyarranged to take the thrust of a spring 7 which rests against the crossbar at one end and preferably against the rear end of the channel orgroove 3 at its other end. Upon the inner surface of the base plate arealso mounted a pair of contact clips 9 and 10 with which the cross bar 8slidingly engages to complete the circuit. The contact clips are shownin Fig. t as consisting of long and short contact members 9 and 12riveted together at one end and connected by suitable means to bindingposts. In the form shown, the contact 9 being longer than the contact12, the bar 8 will always be in contact with the longer contact,

the circuit being made and broken on the shorter of the contacts, sothat one surface of the cross contact will always be clean and in goodcondition.

The cover is suitably cored out to form with the base plate 1 a cavityor chamber for the operating and contacting parts, so that when thecover is screwed down on the base plate, the contact-carrying plunger isheld securely within the groove 3, so that it will be guided in itsmovements back and forth under the operation of the spring 7 and thedoor with which it is to be used.

The switch as shown may be very cheaply constructed, and has been foundin practice to be exceedingly durable.

While the projecting end of the contact plunger may be in the form ofany suitable insulating cap, we prefer to construct the plunger of aninsulating rod or plug over which is driven a metallic tube, as shown,the rod extending any suitable distance into the tube and projectingpartly beyond the same to prevent contact between the tube and themetallic gate or door with which it is to be used. By thus insulatingthe projecting tube of the plunger, we are enabled to secure the crossbar directly to the metallic tube, thus obviating the necessity ofinsulating this contact from the plunger, which insulation is not onlycomparatively costly, but it does not permit of as strong a structure aswhere the cross arm 8 is directly connected to the tube. If desired, asecond plunger 16 as shown may be provided in a second groove 4:preferably formed in the base plate, and having a powerful spring 17with a suitable adjusting screw 18 for the purpose of forcing the dooror gate open in case it is not securely latched by the operator beforehis car leaves the landing.

It is sometimes desirable, when elevator safety appliances get out oforder, or on certain other occasions, to render such ap pliancesineffective in controlling the elevators, and for this purpose, we haveprovided means for locking the plungers out of contacting position sothat the control circuit may be broken at any gate or landing wheneverdesired, and for this purpose, we have provided a hole 13 in the coverplate adapted to register with a hole 14lin the plunger tube when theplunger is forced back out of contacting position, so that when asuitable pin 15 is passed through the registering holes 13 and l t, theplunger is held out of operation.

With the contact parts and easing constructed as herein described, theformer are securely inclosed within a suitable cavity or chamber formedbetween the two parts f the casing, and since the projecting end of theplunger is insulated from contactwith any engaging gate or door, theonly exposed parts of the switch are the binding posts for connectingsuitable leads there to. Switches thus constructed may be placeddirectly upon metal beams or girders and subjected to the hardest usagewithout danger of short cireuiting or grounding,

and they require no insulation between any of the contacting and movingparts.

Obviously, various changes and modifications may be made in ourinvention without departing from the spirit of the same, and we do notwish to be understood as limiting ourselves to any specific constructionand arrangement of contact-s and plungers other than as indicated in theappended claims. Obviously, any suitable form of contact clips may beused and it is also obvious that the auxiliary door-opening plunger 16may be omitted from our switch, if desired, and we wish to be understoodas covering all such modifications in the appended claims, unlessotherwise specified.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a circuit closer, the combination of a casing comprising a baseplate and a cover, both of insulating material one of said casingmembers provided with a groove in its inner surface extending throughone end of said member, a longitudinally movable plunger ofsubstantially the diameter of said groove, projecting partly beyond thecasing, a cross contact piece secured to the plunger, a pair of contactclips mounted on the inner surface of the grooved member and betweenwhich clips the cross contact piece slidingly engages, binding postscarried by the grooved member and connected with the clips, a springwithin the groove between the plunger cross-contact piece and the rearof the casing for thrusting the plunger in one direction, the othercasing member being suitably cored out to form with the first casingmember a chamber for accommodating the contacting and operating parts,said second member acting to hold the plunger in its groove, and meansfor detachably securing said casing members together, whereby the covermay be removed without disturbing the operating and cont-acting parts.

2. In a circuit closer, acasing, a sliding plunger projecting beyond thecasing at one end and comprising a metallic tube having a non-conductiveplug carried at the projecting end thereof and extending partly withinand partly beyond the same for preventing contact with the outer end ofthe tube, said tube having an opening therein, a cross bar contactmember secured in said openin stationary contacts mounted on a part ofthe casing and with which said cross contact member slidingly engages,and a spring abutting against the cross bar at one end and against thecasing at its other end for thrusting the plunger in one direction.

3. In a circuit closer, the combination of a casing comprising a coverformed of hard fiber and a base plate also formed of hard fiber andhaving a groove formed in its inner face, a plunger movably mountedwithin the groove and projecting partly beyond the casing, said plungercomprising a metallic tube with a plug of insulating material at theouter end thereof, a cross contact arm secured to said tube, a pair ofcontact clips also mounted on the inner surface of said base plate, onepair on each side of the groove, with which clips said cross contactpiece slidingly engages, a spring within the groove between the rear endthereof and the cross contact piece on the plunger for moving the latterin one direction, binding posts mounted on the base plate and connectedwith said contact clips, and means for detachably securing the cover tothe base plate, whereby the cover may be removed without disturbing theoperating and contacting parts.

i. In a circuit closer, the combination of a casing, a. plunger slidablein said casing, a cross bar on said plunger, contacts with which saidbar is adapted to engage, a spring for moving said plunger in onedirection, an auxiliary plunger in said casing, and a spring adapted tothrust said auxiliary plunger forward, for the purpose set forth.

In a circuit closer, the combination of a casing, a plunger slidable insaid casing and projecting partly beyond the same, a cross bar on saidplunger, contacts with Which In testimony whereof we have affixed oursaid bar is adapted to engage, a spring for signatures in presence oftwo Witnesses. moving said plunger in one direction, an ROBERT P.LUMLEY. auxiliary plunger in said casing, a spring HENRY G. HILLMAN.

5. adapted to thrust said auxiliary plunger Witnesses:

forward for the purpose set forth, and Row. B. KILLGORE, means forVarying the tension of said spring. CONRAD DIEHL.

